A trench knife is a

combat knife A combat knife is a fighting knife designed solely for military use and primarily intended for hand-to-hand or close combat fighting.Peterson, Harold L., ''Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World'', Courier Dover Publications, , (2001 ...

designed to kill or incapacitate an enemy at close quarters, such as in a trench or other confined area.Peterson, Harold L., Daggers and Fighting Knives of the Western World, Courier Dover Publications, , (2001), p. 80: "Right at the outset trench knives were introduced by both sides during World War I, so that the common soldier was once again equipped with a knife designed primarily for combat."''Catalog of Standard Ordnance Items'', Washington, D.C: U.S. Army Ordnance Publications (1943) It was developed as a close combat weapon for soldiers attacking enemy trenches during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. An example of a World War I trench knife is the German Army's ''Nahkampfmesser'' (close combat knife).Bull, Stephen, ''Encyclopedia of Military Technology and Innovation'', Greenwood Publishing, (2004), p. 70: During World War I, many German trench or close-combat knives (Nahkampfmesser) were issued by the military, while privately purchased knives were often made to military patterns. Most featured blades of around 150 mm (6 inches), with slab wooden grips and metal scabbards.''Military Collectables: An International Directory of Twentieth-Century Militaria'', Crescent Books, , (1984), p. 37 During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the trench knife, by this time also called a ''combat knife'', was developed into new designs. On the German side, the ''Nahkampfmesser'' and associated knives were widely issued to the ordinary soldier for combat and utility purposes, while Allied armies mostly issued trench knives to elite infantry units and soldiers not equipped with the bayonet.

Early trench knives

With the exception of the German ''Nahkampfmesser'' or (close combat knife), most early trench knives were fabricated by hand by individual soldiers or blacksmiths for the purpose of silently killing sentries and other soldiers during trench raids. These early "trench knives" were often shortened and sharpened Army-issue bayonets. One type of stabbing weapon, the '' French Nail'', was made by cutting and pointing the steel stakes used to support the barbed wire protecting trenches. Some historians say that some trench knives models were inspired by the Bowie knife. Soon afterwards, these fabricated trench knives were used in defensive close-quarters trench warfare, and such fighting soon revealed limitations in existing designs. A more elegant form of the ''French Nail'' was the ''Poignard-Baïonnette Lebel M1886/14''. Approved as a standard military infantry weapon after its development by Lieutenant Colonel Coutrot of the French Army, the ''Poignard-Baïonnette Lebel'' consisted of a long, needle-pointed, stiletto-profile blade with wooden handle and an integrated knuckle guard made of steel. Originally a conversion of the French ''Épée-Baïonnette Modèle 1886'' (bayonet), and designed strictly as an offensive weapon, the ''Poignard-Baïonnette Lebel'' used a section of the M1886 Lebel's long, narrow stiletto-type cruciform blade, designed to quickly kill an enemy soldier with a deep thrust. Up to three trench knives could be constructed from a single M1886 Lebel bayonet. Because French industry was working under wartime conditions with numerous material shortages, often using subcontracted labor, even officially sanctioned French Army trench knives tend to vary significantly from knife to knife. The need for knives was so great that already-understrength French Army formations were forced to demobilize hundreds of former cutlery workers so that they could return to their former jobs and begin quantity production of trench knives for the armed forces. As the war went on, newer and more versatile blade-type trench knife patterns such as the double-edged dagger ''Couteau Poignard Mle 1916 dit Le Vengeur'' began to replace the ''French Nail'' and earlier stiletto-style trench knives. The French lead in trench knife development was closely followed by the United States, which introduced three successive trench knife models - the M1917, M1918, and Mark I (1918) - all based directly or indirectly upon previous French designs.

German Army trench knives

The German ''Nahkampfmesser'' (translated: ''close combat knife'') was the standard issue German combat knife during the First World War. It remained in service in modified form through the end of the Second World War.Sainz, Agustin, ''Deutsche Soldaten'', Casemate Publishers, , (2008), p. 152 Most of these knives had slab wooden grips and metal sheaths and were sturdily made. According to one authoritative source, German-issued trench knives of World War I were "conventional, general-purpose, cut-and-thrust knives" with blades that were "for the most part approximately six inches in length, single-edged with a top leading false edge ... although double-edged blades are occasionally encountered." After the '' French Nail'' was employed against them, German forces on the Western Front also began to employ converted steel barbed-wire stakes as stabbing weapons for use by their own soldiers. German trench knives carried during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

were similar in design and are usually known today as

boot knives A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly ...

, although they seldom were carried in boots. Most also had steel sheaths with clips that could be attached to boots, webbing or clothing, and most were made by government contractors and issued as combat gear.

British and Commonwealth trench knives

The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and its Commonwealth allies (e.g. Australia, Canada and New Zealand) used a wide variety of trench knives during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Some were commercial models based on Bowie knives. Others were more specialised types, such as

push dagger A push dagger (alternately known as: punch dagger, punch knife, or push knife) is a short-bladed dagger with a "T" handle designed to be grasped and held in closed-fist hand, so that the blade protrudes from the front of the fist, either between ...

s with a roughly cylindrical

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

grip which was shaped to fit comfortably when the user's hand made a fist. The attached blade protruded between the knuckles of the user. It was common British practice for trench knives to be used in combination with other "quiet" weapons, like trench clubs, pickaxe handles and

hatchet A hatchet (from the Old French , a diminutive form of ''hache'', ' axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be us ...

s, during

trench raiding Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale night-time surprise attacks on enemy positions. Overview Typically, raids were carried out by small teams of men who ...

expeditions, backed up with revolvers and hand grenades. Many standardized versions were made by government contractors and officially issued. Most had slab wooden grips and metal sheaths and were sturdily made. During the

, the

Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife The Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife is a double-edged fighting knife resembling a dagger or poignard with a foil grip. It was developed by William Ewart Fairbairn and Eric Anthony Sykes in Shanghai based on ideas that the two men had while se ...

was widely issued to forces such as the

British Commandos The Commando, Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the World War II, Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out Raid (military), raids against ...

, Royal Marines Commandos, Parachute Regiment,

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...

and the Special Air Service. Though not a true "trench knife" per se, the Fairbairn-Sykes was used for similar purposes.

US trench knives

The first official U.S. trench knife adopted for service issue was the U.S. M1917 trench knife designed by Henry Disston & Sons and based on examples of trench knives then in service with the French Army. The M1917 featured a triangular stiletto blade, wooden grip, metal knuckle guard, and a rounded pommel. The M1917 proved unsatisfactory in service, and a slightly improved version, the M1918, was adopted within months. Despite this, the M1918 is almost identical to the M1917, differing primarily in the construction and appearance of the knuckle guard. Usable only as stabbing weapons, the M1917 and M1918 frequently suffered broken blades. Their limited utility and general unpopularity caused the AEF to empanel a testing board in 1918 to test various trench knives and select a replacement. M1918 Trench Knife

This design was followed by the Mark I, which was designed by a board of U.S. Army officers to remedy certain deficiencies of the M1917/18.Crowell, Benedict (1919), ''America's Munitions 1917-1918, Report of Benedict Crowell, Assistant Secretary of War (Director of Munitions) U.S. War Department, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, pp. 88, 228 Adopted in late 1918, with a blade profile patterned after the French ''Couteau Poignard Mle 1916 dit Le Vengeur'', most Mark I knives were completed too late to see service in the trenches of World War I. During World War II, the Mark I was issued in 1942 and 1943 to

airborne troops Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in a ...

, Army Rangers, and

Marine Raider The Marine Raiders are special operations forces originally established by the United States Marine Corps during World War II to conduct amphibious light infantry warfare. " Edson's" Raiders of 1st Marine Raider Battalion and " Carlson's" Rai ...

s.
KNIFE - U.S. KNIFE MODEL 1918 MKI TRENCH
', Springfield Armory Museum - Collection RecordCanfield, Bruce N., ''U.S. INFANTRY WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR II'', Lincoln, RI: Andrew Mowbray Publishers, , (1994)Shackleford, Steve, ed. (2009), ''Blade's Guide To Knives And Their Values'', Krause Publications, , p. 387 The Mark I featured a full-tang design with a double-edged blade and a heavy bronze hilt incorporating a guard ostensibly shaped as a ''

knuckle duster Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...

'', though the latter was intended to protect the fingers and prevent the knife from being knocked from the hand while in combat rather than for use as a weapon. Despite their look, the spikes on the knuckles were also defensive in nature, meant to make it difficult for the enemy to grab the knife in combat Reflecting the savagery of hand-to-hand trench warfare, the Mark I's pommel incorporated a so-called 'skull-crusher' cap extension, ostensibly designed to stun or kill an enemy soldier and to provide a secondary weapon in circumstances where the blade was damaged or broken. A special proprietary metal scabbard was issued with the Mark I, capable of accommodating the new knife and its oversized knuckleduster grip handle. In 1918, Captain

Rupert Hughes Rupert Raleigh Hughes (January 31, 1872 – September 9, 1956) was an American novelist, film director, Oscar-nominated screenwriter, military officer, and music composer. He was the brother of Howard R. Hughes Sr. and uncle of billionaire Howa ...

of the U.S. Army submitted a patent application for a specialized automatic-opening trench knife of his own design, the ''Hughes Trench Knife''.Hughes, Rupert,
Letters Patent No. 1,315,503 issued September 9, 1919
', Washington, D.C.: United States Patent Office This was a curious device consisting of a folding spring-loaded knife blade attached to a handle which fastened to the back of the hand and was secured by a leather strap, leaving the palm and fingers free for grasping other objects. Pressing a button on the handle automatically extended the blade into an open and locked position, allowing the knife to be used as a stabbing weapon. The ''Hughes Trench Knife'' was evaluated as a potential military arm by a panel of U.S. Army officers from the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in June 1918. After testing the board found the ''Hughes'' design to be of no value, and it was never adopted. Hughes went on to patent his automatic trench knife in 1919, though it appears to have never interested any civilian manufacturers. The U.S. Army adopted the

M3 fighting knife The M3 trench knife or M3 fighting knife was an American military combat knife first issued in March 1943. The M3 was originally designated for issue to soldiers not otherwise equipped with a bayonet.Trzaska, Frank, (1996), U.S. Fighting Knives ...

as a replacement for the Mark I in 1943.Whitman, L., ''New Army Trench Knife'', Army & Navy Journal, Vol. 80, 6 February 1943, p. 649 The Mark I required strategic metals to produce and was too costly to place into mass production, and had been criticized as being unsuited to more modern styles of hand-to-hand knife fighting.Somers, R.H. (Brig. Gen., U.S. Army, ret.) (ed.), ''Ordnance'', American Ordnance Association, Volume 24, No. 138 (May–June 1943), pp. 553-554Cassidy, William L., ''The Complete Book Of Knife Fighting'', , (1997), pp. 47-48 As the U.S. ''Catalog of Standard Ordnance Items'' of 1943 explained: "The Trench Knife M3 has been developed to fill the need in modern warfare for hand-to-hand fighting. While designated for issue to soldiers not armed with the bayonet, it was especially designed for such shock units as parachute troops and rangers." The M3 was first issued to U.S. Army soldiers in 1943, with the first knives going to elite units such as airborne troops and the

U.S. Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

. Despite being designed for hand-to-hand warfare, the M3 did not receive universal praise as a fighting knife upon issue to combat units. While well-balanced (some paratroopers and rangers mastered the art of using the M3 as a throwing knife), the M3's blade was criticized as being too narrow for rough usage, particularly for utility tasks such as opening ammo crates and food tins, while its edge was found to be somewhat difficult to sharpen. The blade's secondary edge was also criticized as being too short, limiting the knife's utility when used for backhand slashing strokes. Many features of the M3 were incorporated into the M4 bayonet for the

M1 Carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...

, the M5 bayonet for the

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...

, the M6 Bayonet for the

M14 rifle The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 in) cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1959, r ...

, and finally the

M7 bayonet The M7 bayonet (NSN 1095-00-017-9701) is a bayonet that was used by the U.S. military for the M16 rifle, it can also be used with the M4 carbine as well as many other assault rifles, carbines and combat shotguns. It can be used as a fighting knif ...

for the

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-ro ...

. The M3 knife and all of these bayonets fit in the M8A1 scabbard, officially designated as the "Scabbard, Bayonet Knife, M8A1," with the

National Stock Number A NATO Stock Number, or National Stock Number (NSN) as it is known in the US, is a 13-digit numeric code used by the NATO military alliance, identifying all the 'standardized material items of supply' as they have been recognized by all member s ...

(NSN) 1095-00-508-0339. Other fighting knives used by U.S. forces have sometimes been referred to as trench knives. These include the stiletto-shaped daggers carried by Marine Corps Raiders in World War II, and fighting-utility knives made by KA-BAR and other manufacturers.

Reference literature

* Wolfgang Peter-Michel Author of: ''Grabendolche: Militärische Kampfmesser des Ersten Weltkriegs'' * Frederick J. Stephens Author of: ''Fighting Knives: Illustrated Guide to Fighting Knives and Military Survival Weapons of the World'' * Eugen von Halász: Deutsche Kampfmesser Band I. Militär-Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Norderstedt 1996, . * Eugen von Halász: Deutsche Kampfmesser Band II. Militär-Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall, Melbeck 2009, .

References

External links

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